Grassroots India dispels myths for foreign students
Print Edition
THE stereotype of India as a country of chaos, crime and cows caused friends to raise their eyebrows when Shyan Koul, 15, from Massachusetts, announced he would be going to the subcontinent for a three-week partnership with local community services this summer.
“They were confused as to why anyone would go there,” Koul said.
Along with a group of 13 other students, Koul was part of an Andover, Massachusetts-based program called Niswarth — which translates from Hindi as “not for oneself.”
“I don’t think India is fairly represented abroad,” said Koul. “We were privileged to get to know the country from a more personal, deeper perspective.”
India has the world’s second-largest population after China. The streets connecting the airport of Ahmedabad — the largest city in the western state of Gujarat — to the hotel where the group stayed were crowded with barefoot walkers, motorized rickshaws and wandering cows. There were no traffic lights, lane dividers or traffic controls.
The group’s exploration of India started in meetings with people involved in helping India cope with its myriad social problems.
Urja Shah, president of the Setco Foundation, explained the Nandaghar anganwandi project, which sets up courtyard shelters providing basic healthcare in Indian villages. The project includes yoga instructors who work in local communities.
Nimesh Patel, a business graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and founder of the Empty Hands project, has lived in the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad for 13 years. He currently works with underprivileged children in India, with emphasis on using music to inspire them.
Upon arrival in Lilapur Village, the student group was introduced to non-governmental organization called Service for Change. It focuses on improving health and sanitation for the 4,228 villagers living there.
The group was met by village women, dressed in colorful traditional clothing reserved for special occasions. Small “brooms” of dried grass and string, representing the concept of clean sanitation, were pinned onto the visitors. Isha, one of the women in the village, dipped her thumb in red paste and created bindis, or dots, on each of their foreheads.
Devendra-bhai, a member of Service for Change, said his organization tackled the problem of human waste and cow dung littering the roads, which exposed the villagers to infectious diseases. In the past 18 months, the organization has installed 75 toilets and a special pit for cow manure, which is recycled for farming.
Lilapur residents welcomed the young guests in their homes. “The house I went for lunch was a two-story building with an open courtyard,” said Saadiya Lakhani, 18, from Pakistan. “There was no door, and when I asked the owner why, he said ‘We don’t need anything to guard our house. Everybody in the village is like family.’
“After I stayed in his home for only two hours, he told me I was like a daughter,” she added.
With an outpouring of hospitality, the villagers invited guests inside chanting “jai mata di,” meaning “my guest is my god.” The guests were given hand-sewn mats to sit on.
In Gujarat, 45 percent of the population is vegetarian. Lunch consisted of buttermilk; dhokla, a soft, spongy bread made from fermented batter and chickpeas; thepla, a flour-based flat bread; dal, or pureed legumes; and undhiyu, a mixed vegetables dish.
Lilapur residents work in the fields or in factories. According to India’s Labor Bureau, a farm laborer in Gujarat earns about 170 rupees (US$2.50) a day, among the lowest-paid workers in the country.
Still, poverty did not stop Lilapur villagers from offering all they had to their visitors. The meal they served their guests probably cost them a half day’s wages, but they asked for nothing in return.
“The village hosts pushed rice and dal at us and said, ‘Eat more! Eat more’,” said Jessica Wang, 16, from Andover. “I learned what it means to be welcomed with open arms and to embrace cultural differences.”
Another non-governmental organization, Manav Sadhna, has the motto, “love all, serve all.” It gives women living in the slum areas of Ahmedabad opportunities to work as artisans or as “courtyard shelter” workers.
Some of these women changed into beautifully crafted three-piece garments called cholis, chaniyas and duppatas and hosted a traditional Gujarati dance.
“I have seen Bollywood movies, but I wasn’t prepared to be so fascinated with the beauty and culture of India,” said Koul.
Everyone was invited into the dance circle. A dhol, or Indian drum, player filled the open courtyard with a rhythmic beat. The dance, called garba, is performed in a circle to symbolize the continuity of life and the divine energy of the body.
India is changing, but progress is slow in rural areas. Devendra-bhai from Service for Change said children are the main catalysts for change.
“Mannu, a sixth grader from Lilapur, talked to me about his interest in math and science,” said Koul. “He is a natural leader, and it was inspiring to see how one person can make a difference in a community.”
Three weeks flew by; the students’ adventure may have ended, but their memories linger on.
Ankoor Sagar, a member of Manav Sadhna, said it was the best experience of his life. “I am not the same person I was before,” he said. “Love and caring can change everything.”
After returning home in the US, Wang said she was asked whether Indians are really as poor as images often depict.
“I feel compelled to dispel the notion that India is just a poverty-stricken, backward country,” she said. “Outsiders may see just poor villages, but I saw development. These villagers enjoy their own way of living, and we have to understand that.”
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